Siteman fund grants $300,000 for unique approaches to fighting cancer

Two scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Siteman Cancer Center will receive a combined $300,000 in funding over two years for their innovative approaches to fighting cancer.

The awards, from the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Research Fund, are meant to further promising early-stage science that because of its unconventional approach might not receive funding from traditional sources.

The recipients are:

•       Nima Mosammaparast, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of pathology and immunology, who is studying how DNA is repaired, in hopes of identifying new ways to treat tumors. He will receive $200,000.

•       James Janetka, PhD, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, who is working to develop inhibitors that have anticancer effects in breast, pancreas, lung, prostate and glioblastoma cell lines. He will receive $100,000.

Alvin J. Siteman, an emeritus Washington University trustee, chairman of Site Oil Co. and president of Flash Oil Co., established the Siteman Cancer Research Fund in 2010. Since then, the fund has provided about $7 million in funding to 11 projects at Washington University/Siteman Cancer Center. All projects are reviewed and recommended by an external review panel.